The Cortland women’s soccer team clinched the top seed in the upcoming SUNYAC playoffs with a 3-0 victory at Oswego last Saturday afternoon.
At home in the semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 1, the Red Dragons are poised to face the winner of the New Paltz and Oswego first-round matchup.
The Red Dragons end their conference play with a 5-0-4 record, earning the SUNYAC regular season title, while the Oswego Lakers end at 3-2-4.
In the 13th minute of the first half, senior Isabella Casucci scored her third goal of the season as a defender. Graduate student Bryn Thompson scored her first goal of the season in the 15th minute of the first half, starting the game with an early 2-0 lead.
“It feels surreal honestly. I never thought as a defender I would be getting multiple goals for our team,” Casucci said. “I’ve always made runs up the field and got close to the net but never actually scored and didn’t have enough confidence to do it.”
“As we play tough games I just really want us to get a goal, so I work as hard as I can to get up there and get the ball in the net,” Casucci said.
Senior Simone Neivel tallied a goal, ending the game with the 3-0 win in the 82nd minute. Junior goaltender Kristen Spendal recorded her seventh shutout of the season for the Red Dragons, earning SUNY Cortland Athlete of The Week recognition.
“Both achievements are super rewarding and I am happy to have gotten them,” Spendal said. “The defense performed very well on Wednesday and Saturday and I am super excited we were able to get the job done and get first seed going into the playoffs.”
The Red Dragons have almost two weeks to prepare for the semifinals which will take place on Holloway field on Nov. 1. This past week the team has been working on specific things that will better them for the game during what they call classroom and on the field practice.
“We have had and still have a long time to get ready, with ten days to mentally and physically prepare ourselves until we begin our first playoff game,” Casucci said. “We have been really focusing on detail in practice and looking at and fixing specific concepts in the game that we need to work on.”
“I, as well as the rest of the team, are very confident going into our postseason because we know we can show up for these games and beat every team we face,” Casucci said.
Cortland v. Oswego Game Statistics:
Goals: Cortland 3, Oswego 0
Shots: Cortland 12, Oswego 6
Corner Kicks: Cortland 6, Oswego 4
Saves: Cortland 3, Oswego 5
Fouls: Cortland 5, Oswego 5